The small Belgian Catholic community in Jerusalem convened on Sunday November 16th to commemorate their King.
This celebration takes place every year on November 15th, the anniversary of the death of St. Leopold the Good, patron of the first King of Belgium. As usual, the Franciscans opened the doors of Saint Saviour church to welcome the faithful, together with the general consul of Belgium. It is in fact a Mass called "consular", since Belgium is a power considered Catholic along with France, Spain and Italy. And as such, the official representative attended the Mass held for his country.
The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Milovitch Ofm., Superior of the Saint Saviour monastery, but it was Fr. Eeckhout, a Dominican, who delivered the homily. This was the opportunity of the Belgian brother to pray so that King Philip could serve his country with “wisdom, skill and dedication to ensure the unity, prosperity and freedom of the citizens of the kingdom.” Commenting the Gospel of the talents, he urged the congregation to become "good and faithful kings, each one for the portion of the people of God entrusted by Him on this earth.”
After the Mass, the congregation met up with the Franciscans for a friendly drink. This was the opportunity of the Consul to thank everyone for the "wonderful celebration" and "availability of the Franciscans." The Belgian community (which has according to the diplomat more than two thousand members, whose large majority are Belgian-Israeli) had this year a special national holiday. "This year is the first year of the reign of King Philip," said the Consul, Mr. Jans. “The King took office on July 21th. The previous consular Mass therefore did not permit us to celebrate a full year of reign. This is all the more a day of celebration since we have a Belgian government rapidly installed in October this year. The monarchy is doing for the better! "
A group of pilgrims who attended the event did not hide the joy: "We have just spent a week in the Holy Land, and we ended our pilgrimage in Jerusalem commemorating our King. For being our first pilgrimage in Israel, we are just delighted." The assembly was then dispersed, keeping in mind the words of the preacher: "May our benevolence be active and imaginative, so when the master returns he will see our hands full and not just clean. Here the confidence allows us to dare and to take initiatives!"
This celebration takes place every year on November 15th, the anniversary of the death of St. Leopold the Good, patron of the first King of Belgium. As usual, the Franciscans opened the doors of Saint Saviour church to welcome the faithful, together with the general consul of Belgium. It is in fact a Mass called "consular", since Belgium is a power considered Catholic along with France, Spain and Italy. And as such, the official representative attended the Mass held for his country.
The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Milovitch Ofm., Superior of the Saint Saviour monastery, but it was Fr. Eeckhout, a Dominican, who delivered the homily. This was the opportunity of the Belgian brother to pray so that King Philip could serve his country with “wisdom, skill and dedication to ensure the unity, prosperity and freedom of the citizens of the kingdom.” Commenting the Gospel of the talents, he urged the congregation to become "good and faithful kings, each one for the portion of the people of God entrusted by Him on this earth.”
After the Mass, the congregation met up with the Franciscans for a friendly drink. This was the opportunity of the Consul to thank everyone for the "wonderful celebration" and "availability of the Franciscans." The Belgian community (which has according to the diplomat more than two thousand members, whose large majority are Belgian-Israeli) had this year a special national holiday. "This year is the first year of the reign of King Philip," said the Consul, Mr. Jans. “The King took office on July 21th. The previous consular Mass therefore did not permit us to celebrate a full year of reign. This is all the more a day of celebration since we have a Belgian government rapidly installed in October this year. The monarchy is doing for the better! "
A group of pilgrims who attended the event did not hide the joy: "We have just spent a week in the Holy Land, and we ended our pilgrimage in Jerusalem commemorating our King. For being our first pilgrimage in Israel, we are just delighted." The assembly was then dispersed, keeping in mind the words of the preacher: "May our benevolence be active and imaginative, so when the master returns he will see our hands full and not just clean. Here the confidence allows us to dare and to take initiatives!"